Related Articles

Rockwell Collins suffered along with the rest of the commercial aviation industry when orders for new and refurbished airplanes nose-dived after 9/11, and with that came a drop in demand for the technical components IBEW members produce for the planes.

But last summer came the announcement that Rockwell Collins had secured a $2 billion Defense Department contract to build a new electronics system that will revolutionize the militarys aviation and ground communications systems. Hundreds of IBEW jobs could be saved in the next few years as the IBEW-represented Cedar Rapids, Iowa plant gears up for possible production. The nearby Coralville, Iowa plant, which employs members of Local 1634, is also the possible beneficiary of another Defense Department contract to replace the Armys 10-year-old handheld global positioning system units with a smaller, sleeker version.

"With all the Enrons and the WorldComs going on out there, Rockwell Collins is a good company and good things are happening to it," said former Local 1634 Business Manager Frank Gusta, now an 11th District International Representative. The Coralville plant produces defense electronics and the Cedar Rapids facility manufactures commercial and defense airplane technology.

To say the plants could use the work would be an understatement. The Cedar Rapids plant has had approximately 250 layoffs since September 11, 2001, out of a total IBEW work force of 1,400. At the Coralville facility, no permanent layoffs have been announced, though its 436 members have had to endure voluntary temporary layoffs.

The contract awarded to Rockwell Collins for the development of the "Joint Tactical Radio System," or JTRS, is the biggest ever by the manufacturer. The system is envisioned as a replacement for every radio the army uses to communicatemaritime, airborne, fixed-station, ground mobile and handheld platform. This "joint solution" will replace up to 30 different devices and systems now in use.

The initial contract award will be $110 million, which includes the system development and demonstration phases over the next three years. If Cedar Rapids-based Rockwell Collins is selected to win the production contract, scheduled to start in 2007, the possibilities for job growth will be even better. The current contract is to design and build prototype radios for use in military planes, helicopters and ground systems.

"Its a new future for the communication network," said Cedar Rapids Local 1362 Business Manager Rawson "Rosie" Behel.

For now, while the company remains in the early development stage, not much has changed. "Its great news and everybodys glad to hear it but nobody sees it yet," said Local 1634 Business Manager Brian Heins. "It will probably take a couple of years before the work will start."

Rockwell Collins is one of two corporations that will bid for the JTRS production contract. If the company wins that, it could mean saving up to 600 production jobs that would otherwise be likely to be targeted as excess as the new radio components begin to replace old ones, Behel said. Workers in Cedar Rapids build several radios whose functions will be combined and integrated into the new communications system.

The Armys JTRS production contract is expected to be awarded within a
year.